Representative volume element generation and its size determination for discontinuous composites made from chopped prepregs

2020 ◽  
Vol 252 ◽  
pp. 112633
Author(s):  
P.R. Krishna Mohan ◽  
M. Anil Kumar ◽  
P.M. Mohite
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aanchna Sharma ◽  
Yashwant Munde ◽  
Vinod Kushvaha

AbstractIn this study, Representative Volume Element based micromechanical modeling technique has been implemented to assess the mechanical properties of glass filled epoxy composites. Rod shaped glass fillers having an aspect ratio of 80 were used for preparing the epoxy composite. The three-dimensional unit cell model of representative volume element was prepared with finite element analysis tool ANSYS 19 using the periodic square and hexagonal array with an assumption that there is a perfect bonding between the filler and the epoxy matrix. Results revealed that the tensile modulus increases and Poisson’s ratio decreases with increase in the volume fraction of the filler. To study the effect of filler volume fraction, the pulse echo techniques were used to experimentally measure the tensile modulus and Poisson’s ratio for 5% to 15% volume fraction of the filler. A good agreement was found between the RVE based predicted values and the experimental results.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073168442094118
Author(s):  
Qi Wu ◽  
Hongzhou Zhai ◽  
Nobuhiro Yoshikawa ◽  
Tomotaka Ogasawara ◽  
Naoki Morita

A novel localization approach that seamlessly bridges the macro- and micro-scale models is proposed and used to model the forming-induced residual stresses within a representative volume element of a fiber reinforced composite. The approach uses a prescribed boundary that is theoretically deduced by integrating the asymptotic expansion of a composite and the equal strain transfer, thus rendering the simulation setting to be easier than conventional approaches. When the localization approach is used for the finite element analysis, the temperature and residual stresses within an ideal cubic representative volume element are precisely simulated, given a sandwiched thermoplastic composite is formed under one-side cooling condition. The simulation results, after being validated, show that the temperature gradient has an impact on the local residual stresses, especially on the in-plane normal stress transverse to the fiber, and consequently, influences the structural deformation. This newly designed localization approach demonstrates the advantages of enhanced precision and reduced computational cost owing to the fast modeling of the finely meshed representative volume element. This is beneficial for a detailed understanding of the actual residual stresses at the micro-scale.


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